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| Finger painting turkeys in the
Purple Room
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Giving on Thanksgiving
by Miriam Schiller
Principal
With Thanksgiving next week, we are all busy planning our family get-togethers and looking forward to our celebrations. It is most appropriate that we remember the destitute in our community who are unable to provide themselves with the basics necessary to enjoy this holiday and beyond.
To this end, we ask our Akiba-Schechter families to help by contributing any store-bought food in sealed containers. Food that is kosher will be turned over to the Ark, which in turn distributes food throughout Chicago to the needy of our community. Any foodstuffs we receive that are not certified kosher will be given to our local Hyde Park Interfaith Council Food Pantry for distribution.
We hope you will respond as soon as possible. We should all participate in the Mitzvah of providing sustenance to the needy. Please place food donations into the designated boxes at the entrances to the preschool and grade school. They will be distributed accordingly. Thank you.
With best wishes for a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!
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Grandparents & Special Friends Day
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Grandparents and Special Friends Day is next
Wednesday, November 23
:
Preschool & Kindergarten:
9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Grades 1-8:
11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
RSVP deadline is today! Sign up if you haven't already done so!
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Why G-d Loves Avraham
by Rabbi Holman
Since the beginning of our encounter with Avraham, we never really find out why G-d likes him so much. Finally, in this week's Parasha, G-d says, "I love Avraham because he teaches his children and household the ways of G-d." Avraham displayed these "ways of G-d" himself through his care for others and his insistence on social justice. The Hebrew word usually used for love, "Ahav," is absent; instead, the word "Yedativ" - the most intense form of love - describes G-d's affection. More than all of Avraham's tests and acts of goodness, it is his commitment to educating the next generation that earns him his special status. Let us all feel a sense of pride that we continue to follow Avraham's sense of commitment to Jewish education. (R. Asher Weiss, Jerusalem)
Shabbat Shalom!
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Preschool
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Thanksgiving is approaching and the children in the Blue Room are having discussion about how they are thankful for their friends. To strengthen the community feeling, the children have been working on their buddy portraits in which buddies are drawing portraits of each other and describing how their buddy is special. Here Louie is drawing a portrait of Maddie.
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Grades 1-8
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| The 1st/2nd graders explore the 3rd/4th graders classroom. |
Christopher Columbus Simulation
In a collaborative effort to teach the lower school students about the nuances of perspective, Ms. Friedman's 1st/2nd graders explored/ invaded Ms. Levine's 3rd/4th grade class.
Ms. Friedman prepared her students to be "explorers, not destroyers." Nonetheless, the 3rd/4th graders were put off by people coming into their room and touching their belongings and using their materials.
Afterwards, the students debriefed. All of them understood how the interactions between the Native Americans and Christopher Columbus were a matter of perspective.
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Morah Ahuva's 3rd grade made Google Slide Presentations in Hebrew to review a Hebrew book they read in class about seven ideas for how to be a successful learner. Here's an excerpt from Elon and Jake's presentation.
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Kitah Alef Toiletry Drive
The Kitah Alef class is doing a Thanksgiving Mitzvah Project to assemble gift bags for the homeless. The gift bags, called Kindness Kits, are intended to help teach the children about the importance of helping others. Each gift bag will contain items useful to those in need. Please consider donating new and unopened travel-size toiletries (shampoo, shower gel, lotion, etc.) for this project. All items should be placed in the donation box in the lobby by
Monday, November 21
. Any extra items will be donated to a local agency. Thank you!
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Mrs. Brackman and Mrs. Gold's 7/8th grade Jewish Thought classes have been using an
instructional method of teaching, which focuses on specific themes
. Every month there is a new theme, where students learn how everyday character traits have sources in the Torah and our lives as Jews. These past few weeks the theme has been persistence, and students created portfolios of the entire unit. See their video above on the theme of persistence.
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1-Book, 1-Akiba
has officially begun! You should have received an invitation; if you did not, please
email
Mindy Schiller. This is a two-month-long program during which you and your child will read the novel
The War That Saved My Life,
and in which Akiba will supplement your readings with discussion prompts, book club-type discussions, live Twitter conversations, and a culminating event on January 11, 2017. We hope you will choose to join. Please be sure to RSVP so that we know to send you the appropriate communications.
Learn more here
. Questions? Please email Mindy.
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Recently 3rd grader Annabelle came into the library to ask me to recommend a book. I suggested Ruthie's Gift by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, the same author of The War that Changed My Life that our 1-Book, 1-Akiba community is currently reading. When she returned the book, she told me that she thought it was the best book she ever read, and I a
sked her to write a review:
I really liked Ruthie's Gift.
I liked how she was the only girl in the house, besides her mom. I liked the way her brothers treated her. It was nice.
I would recommend this book because it is so nice and it is about nice things like friendship and other things. If I were you, I'd read this book.
Review by Annabelle Glick
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2nd grade artists created Noah's Ark collage pictures. They combined origami, drawing and paper-scrap collage to add detail and depth to their wonderful scenes.
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Kindergarten students constructed adorable turkey-shaped baskets using a large sheet of construction paper and an assortment of colorful paper strips. The children loved drawing on the turkey's eyes and gluing the paper strips onto the top of the tail, often bursting into cheerful Thanksgiving songs as they worked.
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4th grade artists have been studying and making Native American medicine wheels. They decorated them with feathers, beads, and with colorful lanyard, which they variously stretched, twisted, or braided. They often worked together and helped each other. Some students thought up shortcuts and different clever approaches, including a really fun peace symbol pattern. They worked very hard on these and they are absolutely gorgeous.
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Thank you to the following for supporting the Akiba-Schechter Jewish Day School Annual Fund as of November 10, 2016. You can make your gift
online
or via a check sent to the school. The Annual Fund impacts every aspect of an Akiba-Schechter education. If you have questions about the Annual Fund, please contact Alexa Markoff, Director of Development.
| Julia Levine |
| Maria and John Longbrake |
| J.E. Matanky |
| Jennifer Mosley and Paul-Brian McInerney |
| Irv and Vivian Paley |
| Sam Peltzman and Nancy Bradney |
| Perfect Cleaning Service, Inc. |
| Bud Pickett |
| Paul and Karen Pinkus |
| Walter and Chaya Roth |
| Maurice Rusnak |
| Mindy Schiller |
| Arthur Schneider |
| Michael and Sheila Schwartz |
| Yitzchak and Esther Shkop |
| Bina Simon |
| Jean Singer |
| Fred and Linda Smous |
| Jessica Tinianow |
| Phil Venticinque and Katie Malmquist |
| Sam and Julie Volchenboum |
Give today - impact today!
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Head of School Search Update
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Please join us on Sunday, November 20 for two opportunities to meet Akiba Head of School candidate Daniel R. Weiss. Mr. Weiss will introduce himself to the community and be available for a question and answer session. Please RSVP.
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Mazal tov
...to Kitah Alef teacher Jessica Kaz and her family on the Bat Mitzvah of her daughter Gili last Shabbat.
Ping Pong Anyone?
We are considering offering ping pong as an after-school program. Who's in? If interested, please email Elisa Aranoff, After-School Program Director
. We need enough interested students in order to proceed. Thanks!
Still Looking for Assistant Fencing Coach
Our fencing program is bursting at the seams! We are looking to hire an assistant coach to help out on Tuesday and Thursdays afternoons. Please
contact Coach Price if you know anyone who is interested.
ATT Annual Banquet
Sunday, December 4
5:00 p.m.
Crowne Plaza O'Hare
The Ten Commandments of Raising Extraordinary Children
ATT Rabbi Mayefsky Annual Lecture
December 10 @ 8:00 p.m.
ATT, 8233 Central Park Ave, Skokie
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Dates to Remember
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Wednesday, November 23
Grandparents & Special Friends Day
12:00 noon Dismissal for Preschool
3:30 p.m. Dismissal for Grades 1-8
No late bus; no late pick-up nor after-school classes nor Kids Club
Thursday & Friday, November 24 & 25
Thanksgiving Break
No Classes
Thursday, December 1
Rosh Chodesh Breakfast
Wednesday, December 14
K-4th Grade Family Spaghetti Dinner
5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 21
Chanukah Assembly
9:00 - 9:30 a.m. Preschool/Kindergarten
10:00 - 11:15 a.m. Grades 1-8
Families are invited!
Sunday, December 25
First Night of Chanukah
Monday, December 26
Winter Break Begins
Monday, January 9
Classes Resume
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November 18, 2016
Volume 13, Issue 7
Candle Lighting:
4:07 p.m.
Parasha: Vayeira
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Flowers for Shabbat!
The 8th graders are selling Shabbat flowers to raise funds for their trip to Israel:
Roses $10
Mixed Bouquet $7
Single roses $1
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Don't forget to set up your amazonsmile account to benefit Akiba. Thank you!
JUF Chanukah Coat Club
A gift of $18 to the
JUF Chanukah Coat Club will give a local child in need a warm new coat.
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Since 2004 Akiba-Schechter has received
$487,869
from the Kehillah Fund; this month it is $3,707. Over 1,400 community members participate in the Kehillah Fund's recurring donor program in support of Jewish day school education, and every month $71,000 is distributed to Chicago area day schools.
To learn more, please call
(847) 745-1668 or visit
www.kehillahfund.org
.
Thank you for your support!
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Affiliated with the Associated Talmud Torahs and supported by the Kehillah Jewish Education Fund
773-493-8880
Check out our new website!
www.akibaschechter.org
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